30 Man cave
A Cut Above the Rest When award-winning barber Peleti Oli has a client in his chair, he has the power to determine more than just the rest of their day.
He has a mission which extends beyond the blade, one to promote his barbershop, Somehz Touch Barbers in Hastings, as a ‘safe place’ for all who enter. “You have a bit of power to influence people who sit in your chair. It is a good tool and that’s why I want to use it to make the world a better place; one haircut at a time,” Peleti says. “We try to create an atmosphere where men feel safe, that’s the environment we encourage. If we can be vulnerable it invites them to see that ‘hey, I’m not alone’,” he says. Peleti and his team specialise in hair art, fades, cut throat shaves and beard shaping and reshaping, and this month he is visiting Marlborough salon Cutz on Weld to share some of his skills. “I like to get creative in doing a lot of designs; especially for the kids that come in and want a Batman or a Superman on their head, that’s what I specialise in,” he says. Despite two other barber shops on his block, business is booming for Peleti, who operates a bookings-only policy, and has five other barbers working to keep up with demand. For the past three years he has claimed the top spot in the creative category at New Zealand’s ultimate barbering and men’s grooming event, BarberCraft. Peleti has had no formal training for his career, one which very nearly didn’t happen. “I first started barbering in high school, when my late friend John taught me how to do a haircut. “It’s quite a tradition where you learn the skill and then just do haircuts from your garage, so I was doing haircuts for free for a very long time; I was never short of guinea pigs,” Peleti says. For many years, cutting hair was a hobby, something he used to do when somebody needed a haircut, and a skill he shared with his late brother Someh, who in turn taught him the art of barbering. Sadly, Peleti later lost his brother to suicide, something he originally thought would end his barbering career. “Just before the family service, all
my cousins and Someh’s friends lined up in the garage wanting to get hair cuts. I said ‘hey, I’m struggling to keep it together, I’m mourning the loss of my brother’, I thought that would be the last time I cut hair,” he says. “But as soon as I started doing the first haircut I felt peaceful, I call it my solace, my place of peace.” Peleti soon realised he could utilise his skill to better his own life, and to reach out to others. “Losing my brother was a bit of a wakeup call for myself. I was really just going in and out of jobs, moving from the Hawkes Bay to Auckland to Australia, and not really picking a real path in my life. “I decided to take barbering and give it a go, so to speak, to take it a little more seriously, so I found the opportunity to work in a shop and that’s where it began,” Peleti says. Unlike many ‘men-only’ barber shops, Peleti welcomes both men and women into his shop, and he uses the space to help them not only with grooming upkeep, but also as a place to talk. His work also sees him speak at suicide prevention workshops and share his barbering skills with troubled youth in the hope that he will help them to discover their own passion. “As I lost my brother and my friend John to suicide, it became my journey to raise awareness for suicide and help the youth … continuing [their] journey, that’s my inspiration and motivation.” Peleti looks forward to sharing his hair cutting knowledge with the team at Cutz on Weld, and says there are a few things men can do to ensure they’re happy with their cut. “My tips for men would be just to research. It really comes down to the shape of a person’s face … identify what face shape they have and identify some styles that would best suit their head.” Listening to the barber is also key for maintaining the hairstyle long term, Peleti says. “When you style the hair, as soon as they leave the barbershop it’s probably going to be the last time it’s going to look like that. “My advice for the customer is before they leave the barbershop, to ask the barber how they achieved that style,” he says. The team at Cutz On Weld will be inspired after Peleti’s training, be sure to book in to benefit from his skills and experience.
